Internationally known as a home of Deodar trees, Pakistan is a unique country in South Asia blessed with numerous varieties of indigenous tall canopy trees beneficial to mitigate an adverse effects of climate change, air pollution, desertification besides controlling floods.
Pakistan is an abode to world tallest shady trees mostly found in Hamalya and Karakuram to Hindokush mountains ranges, coastal areas of Karachi and Gwadar, alpine pasture Malakand, Hazara, Muree, AJK and GB beside arid zones of DI Khan, DG Khan, Cholistan, Bahawalpur and Tharparker. Ibrahim Khan, deputy project director, Billions Trees Afforestration Project (BTAP) Forest Department said that Pakistan was bestowed with more than 200 native trees and nine different forest ecological systems hardly available in any other country of world.
Besides controlling floods, he said that trees are acting as purifiers of environment by significantly enhancing chances of rain, producing oxygen, absorbing carbon dioxide, controlling temperature and air pollution in the country. He said that on average 267.6mm rainfall per year occur in Pakistan, and areas with thick forests normally receive more rains like upper Punjab and KP.
“Trees are a main source of absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen for people and bolstering chances of rains,” he said. He said the national tree of Pakistan, Deodar and other famous species including Kail, Spruce and Walnut are being found in relatively cold climate areas of Swat, Chital, Kohistan, Dir, Gilgit Baltistan and AJK whereas Punjab and KP are the epicenters of native Shisham, Siris, Pipal, Bakin, Amaltas, Willow, Poplar, Mulberry, Phulai, Alstona, Kachnar, Bottle Brush, Gul e Nashtar and Jaman.
Kikar, Neem, Beera at Sindh and mangroves at coastal areas of Karachi, Thatta and Balochistan and endangered juniper trees at Ziarat near Quetta are easiest sources to counterbalance growing effects of climate change and air pollution besides bolstering chances of rains in Pakistan. “One healthy shady tree provides oxygen to two to four persons and 1075 plants on one hectare land absorb six to eight tons carbon dioxide on daily basis,” he said.
Owing to increase in global warming and climate change induced weather patterns, he said that change had been witnessed in normal patterns of rains across the globe including Pakistan that resultantly disturbed the weather pattern. KP province has a rich ecological biodiversity with 26.6pc expanded forest covered area and its Galyat, Kaghan, Naran, Malam Jabba and Kalam receive substantial rainfall especially during monsoon.
Dr Muhammad Mumtaz Malik, former Chief Conservator Wildlife KP said that Peshawar valley had been once the stronghold of endangered Shisham, Siris and Pepal and a thick forest here was a source of rains for people, habitat for wildlife and control of pollutant gases. First Mughal Emperor, Zaheer-ud-Din Babar in his book “Tuzkay Babari” had written about hunting of a lion in the outskirts of Peshawar, which manifested presence of a dense forest here, he said.
During King Sher Shah Suri, (1486-1545) era, Shisham was planted in large number along GT roadside in present KP. With a passage of time, he said the population of these pollution abating trees had significantly decreased in Peshawar Valley comprising Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera and Charsadda districts due to mushroom population growth, urbanization, unabated housing and construction activities besides dieback disease. A new visitor would be extremely disappointed if goes through Swat canal linking Katlang-Swabi, Michi canal in Dargai Malakand, Abazai beanch in Charsadda and outskirts of Peshawar to see hundreds of withered Shisham.
Today even birds like Cranes and Houbara Bustard can hardly be seen in the Peshawar’s outskirts for which once it was famous for in addition to substantial decrease of aquatic species including Mahsher and Trout in rivers Swat and Kabul due to water pollution. Due to deforestation and climate change, he said there was fluctuations in rainfalls that resulted flooding in rivers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Besides floods, he said that air pollution has engulfed Peshawar, which could be seen even with a naked eye these days, exposing people to serious environmental and health hazards. “Plantation of native plants is the easiest source to control air pollution in big cities like Peshawar where Particulate Matter (PM)’s level (PM 2.5) has crossed Narought tional Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS)’s limits,” Muhammad Irshad, Chief Analyst, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told APP. He said canopy trees were a great source of controlling dangerous PM 2.5 level pollution. PM 2.5 is a complex mixture of extremely small and light particles staying for longer period in air and once inhaled, can affect peoples’ hearts, nose to lungs, respiratory system besides leading to high blood pressure, strokes, asthma, cancer and other chronic diseases.
The minimum level of PM 2.5 in Peshawar’s air is about 40micrograms (mg) per cubic meter and maximum 52mg per cubic meter while NEQS recommended level of tiny particles in air should not be more than 15mg per cubic meter. “The smoke and dust in air was measured between five to 10 feet higher in different places where PM2.5 is almost four times higher than NEQS limits,” he said adding, canopy trees with 10 feet or more height have the ability to absorb such high level of carbon dioxide and pollutant gases in Peshawar besides minimised rains water flows.
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